1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of appliances and, more particularly, to a system for distributing power to various electrical devices of an appliance when the potential power consumption level of the devices collectively exceeds the available supply to the appliance.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There exist different types of appliances which incorporate various electrical devices that can be activated individually or simultaneously. For example, a typical electric household range includes an oven and generally four surface heating elements. Once the appliance is connected within a household, there will be a preset power supply limit available for use by the appliance. In most instances, there exist building codes which must be adhered to in wiring for such an appliance such that the available power supply is typically pre-established.
With the above in mind, these types of appliances; are designed and manufactured utilizing electrical devices which have associated power consumption levels that do not collectively exceed the available power supply to the appliance. In this manner, it is assured that all of the power consumption devices can be simultaneously activated without overloading the electrical circuitry and blowing a fuse. However, from a practical standpoint, it is actually quite rare that all of the electrical devices will require activation at the same time.
Certainly, some versatility and other benefits can be made available to the consumer if the appliance were to incorporate either additional electrical devices or higher powered devices, even if these devices were to collectively exceed the available power supply limit if simultaneously activated. For instance, in the case of an electric household range, it may be advantageous to increase the available upper operating temperatures for the oven and/or the surface burners, or to even incorporate a second oven unit as part of the overall range. Without correspondingly decreasing the power rating of the individual components to safeguard against a system overload, these design changes are typically not available.
Based on the above, there exists a need in the art of electrical appliances for a control system which can be used to effectively distribute power to multiple power consumption devices of an appliance when the collective power consumption level of the devices exceeds the overall power supply limit available to the appliance. Such a power distributing system will enable product lines to be expanded to include appliances having more versatile features for the consumer, without requiring changes to standard power supply line designs for the appliances.